


is this how it works? am i doing it right?

by itbunnygirl



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Or ficlet, and he wont admit he hates leaving, mainly because its asra and the apprentice continuing to tiptoe around their feelings for each other, she wont admit she misses him, slight angst if you squint, whatever you wanna call it its short and semi sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 15:14:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20909729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbunnygirl/pseuds/itbunnygirl
Summary: Moments like this are her favorite because she can trick herself into believing he feels more than he does. She wonders faintly if he can feel how clammy her hands are. Can he tell how fast her heart is beating? Does he notice how she cant seem to speak or move or do anything right in his presence?(just a small something bouncing around in my head about asra and the apprentice liking each other but both too afraid and too comfortable where they are in their own shells to try and change anything)





	1. is this how it works?

Asra’s face always lit up in moments like this. The smile in his eyes that always seemed to make Naima’s throat itch and her stomach hiccup. A laugh bubbling from his throat as he twirls her around their shop, swaying to a song that only he could hear. Moments like this are her favorite because she can trick herself into believing he feels more than he does. She wonders faintly if he can feel how clammy her hands are. Can he tell how fast her heart is beating? Does he notice how she cant seem to speak or move or do anything right in his presence? Magic sputtering at the ends of her twitchy fingers. The room feels hotter than normal and Naima cant tell if its just her or if its the stove salamander’s doing but shes sweating and cold at the same time, trapped in her own skin. A hand against her cheek and she jolts back to awareness.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? You feel warm and this trip can wait until you feel better..” Asra whispers, pressing his forehead against hers. Her stomach hiccups again and her heart betrays her, beating itself her ribcage like a prisoner shaking the bars of their cell begging for release. Hope threatens to bubble over like a pot forgotten on the stove. She smothers it down refusing to play the part of a fool. 

“It’s just a bit warmer in here than normal Asra. I swear I’ll be fine. As long as you promise to bring me another souvenir that is.” Naima says with a wink, “but first I’d like to finish our dance if you don’t mind.”

She gives an over exaggerated curtsy and holds her hands out for his. He covers his mouth before the giggles can escape his lips and she knows she has him again. 

“Now how could i deny a lady who asks so sweetly.”

Hands on her hips, she can feel the warmth of his fingers seep through her skirts as he lifts her in the air and spins around. They separate and step away until their palms are barely touching. She tiptoes forward as he inches back, a pantomime of a cat stalking a mouse. They circle each other and play the same game theyve played a thousand times before. Both refusing to give in, always stepping back when the other presses forward. When she finally locks eyes with him and steadies her feet, he knows that the next part of the dance has begun. Asra’s grin threatens to break his cheeks as she leaps towards him and straight into another full body twirl. He pants with exhaustion when they finally break apart and he pulls her in for one last hug. Absentmindedly, he wraps one of her curls around his finger and watches it bounce back upon release. Her hands clench at the back of his shirt as her stomach and heart do the same. 

“Go! Go get outta here before it gets too dark to travel you sentimental fool!” Naima says, pushing at him and trying to shove Asra out the door. He doesn’t budge but he humors her attempts by bending down to grab his bag and scarf. He doesnt get up right away, just stares at her face while crouched at her feet. Studying it or searching for something in her features. Seeming in that moment further away than he’d ever felt while on his numerous travels. “What? What? Oh gods is there something on my face??” she whispers while running her fingers over her cheeks, trying to feel what he’s looking for.

“Nothing’s on your face silly. I’m just trying to commit your features into my memory. I’m really going to miss you, you know? I always do.” 


	2. am i doing it right?

She smiles and lets out a giggle when she comes home one day to find Asra sprawled on his back in the doorway of the shop, Faust licking at his cheeks and curling herself around his neck. 

“I think she missed you almost as much as I did.” Naima laughs, holding a hand out to help him up. 

He lets her pull him up and into a hug and breathes a sigh of relief into her shoulder. She pats his back before relinquishing her hold on him and goes to put away the groceries she had forgotten by the door. He wonders faintly if he’ll ever see her smile at him the way she used to. The one where the corners of her eyes would crinkle and he could almost hear the sound her laughter in her grin. But he could be happy with this. Happy with listening to her talk about her day with Julian, Nadia, and Portia. He could be happy playing the silly little games she liked now.

She kept her hair shorter now. Just a poof of curls barely reaching the bottom of her ears. More outgoing now too. Before he was all she seemed to need, being around others always exhausted her. A lot of things changed after she came back. She was the one he went to with questions about the finer points of magic. He had discovered the basics on his own during his nights on the streets with Muriel. But she was the only one of them who’d had any formal training. Yet here he was teaching her to walk and talk again. Teaching her how to sense traces of magic in the area and how to defend herself. But he was happy to do it. He’d told her before everything happened, before he’d left that very first time, that he’d do anything to stay by her side. He couldnt really do anything the right way.


End file.
